


Behind the Building Confession

by Starlight_Adventurer



Series: OP Admirals Week 2020 [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Highschool Teacher Zephyr, Just some cute stuff to make you smile, short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26479876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlight_Adventurer/pseuds/Starlight_Adventurer
Summary: Day 2: Time || Modern AUThe fluffy, fluffy feeling of a first love written down on paper. Those magical emotions given to a man who is not at all 'fluffy'.What is Zephyr to do when sparing the heart of an unknown young girl?Part of One Piece Admirals Week 2020
Relationships: Zephyr (One Piece)/Zephyr's Wife (One Piece)
Series: OP Admirals Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923490
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3
Collections: One Piece Admirals Week 2020





	Behind the Building Confession

**Author's Note:**

> Wanted some practice writing short things.
> 
> This is so goofy and I love it! Had a lot of fun writing it!
> 
> (there's no tag for Zephyr's wife, where is my pre-Neo Marine Zephyr people?)

A pastel pink envelope in a school locker, the fantasy of every highschool boy until the day they met that certain someone. Sugar sweet words written inside the pretty package on a sheet of otherwise unblemished white; they were poetry and emotions given form in impeccable cursive. The entire thing crafted by the delicate hands of a hopeful maiden.

The entire thing was written for a man who could only blink stupidly down at the ink on the page. Zephyr was a married teacher with a young son, someone who should not be receiving such heartfelt confessions of a rose tinted crush, and a face that could send his students into fits of pleading hysterics with a single well placed glare.

Was the writer blind? 

They said that love was blind, but surely that had limits.

What if it was a prank?

As if anyone would be so bold as to do anything to directly incur his ‘wrath’.

Who wrote it?

He trailed his eyes down, past the dainty, rounded paragraphs which bordered on poetic stanzas, to the last line of the message:

‘Meet me behind the school at sundown, I’ll show myself then.’

Too nervous to be direct…

Zephyr sighed. He had to respect the courage it took to place the letter in its destination, but it missed the mark without that key piece of information - added hassle with a dash of cowardice. However, the beating heart of youth was a delicate thing; it was marshmallow fluff coated in a dusted layer of glass. It would be too easy to find frustration in his current situation, Zephyr regarded himself as a stronger man than that, so that just left going along with the mysterious admirer’s wishes. 

A slippery slope surrounded on all sides with instant death hazards, if word got out about a rendezvous between a teacher and student then both their reputations would be in shambles. This girl’s entire life was ahead of her, he could afford to be seen as a piece of filth - nothing could phase him and his wife would understand his reasoning, so why would she risk it all for an unreachable shooting star romance with a man who looked like blood trailed his footsteps.

He supposed there was only one way to find out…

\---

The time before sundown had been filled with firework fizzle thoughts; explosive and loud, they had knocked against the inside of Zephyr’s head like a tiny hammer until he had been unable to complete his paperwork for the evening. 

His farewell from the teacher’s room was gruffer than usual, not that anyone would notice the minute change from his constant sandpaper demeanour. Zephyr walked to the meeting point with purpose, each step as measured as the flexes of his hands, and found the back of the school building empty.

Good, this gave him time to think. Zephyr chuckled humorlessly as he leant against the wall. The ember margined shadow that fell over the late hour meetup hideaway was cool, a respite from the stretched rubber band of his nerves.

Considerate and understanding, firm and fair, determined and mellow, Zephyr had to convey his brutal honesty in a manner befitting a model teacher. A student was depending on him, even if she didn’t realise the reason why, and he would rather quit his job than betray the trust every one of his pupil’s placed in his hands. This nervous stupor was shameful, enough for him to laugh at himself at any other time. Zephyr tisked.

The sound of approaching steps made him push off from the wall and prepare an intimidating stance. Wait, no, he was glaring. Zephyr tried to force his face into a smile, anything less terror inducing than the regular soul crushing furrow of his brows, but the expression felt unnatural on his skin.

“Sweetie? Is something wrong? You look like you’re in pain,” a familiar voice softly questioned, stifling a giggle. Zephyr glanced down to meet the concerned gaze of his wife. The small smile painted on her lip and its subtle quiver gave away her innermost amusement. 

The shine of her auburn hair was a flash of gentle heat, even without the setting sun’s light, that lit up his entire world. Her smile widened when he remained silent and she laughed, “Expecting someone else?”

Zephyr’s brows furrowed.

How?

“‘Dear Mr Z, I have something unbelievable to tell you.’” She quoted slowly.

He blinked down into her expectant eyes. A direct quote?

“You’re so slow,” his wife huffed while flicking him in the forehead. Her pout was cute, like a flushed sakura bud in the spring.

“I’m sorry, ‘I’m sure I kept you waiting’,” Zephyr made a quote of his own. The tension in his shoulders slipped away to fuel the butterflies in his stomach. “‘I didn’t think the note was serious. I wasn’t sure that anyone could love a man with my face’.”

She laughed, a sun in the twilight. “You remembered!”

“Later than you,” he corrected with a tired exhale. Zephyr took her hand and cradled it, “But, how could I forget the day you confessed?”

“Behind a school building, where you kept me waiting until the sun had already gone down. Like a true gentleman.” Her words were joking but the embarrassed lilt in her voice matched the heat in her face.

“And like a true lady, you tricked me into coming here and confessing my feelings all those years ago,” Zephyr chuckled before pecking the back of her hand. It was warm.

Warm, a soothing blanket around his entire being, and gentle, a unique meadow blossom in a breeze, just like her.

**Author's Note:**

> Haha! Thank you if you've made it this far!
> 
> Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think in the comments!


End file.
